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Lebanon decides to confront Israel and US in Israeli-occupied Lebanese Golan farms

Elijah J. Magnier
ejmagnier.com
Wed, 27 Mar 2019 17:49 UTC
putin aoun
Lebanese Judge Ahmad Mezher has given orders that a survey be conducted of Lebanese occupied territories in the Shebaa Farms, Kfarshouba, Huneen, Ideise and Bleeda. These villages are bordering Hasbaiya, Rashaya al-Fukhar and Kiyam and have been under Israeli occupation since 1981, as Syria's Golan Heights have been since 1967. This step coincides with the illegal "gift" of the Syrian Golan Heights offered by US President Donald Trump to his closest ally Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu. Although Trump's move was verbally condemned by the international community, no other state or international body seems likely to openly oppose Trump's move at the moment.

However, Lebanon has decided to confront this move on the ground, showing its readiness to defend its territory if US "gifts" were ever seen to include Lebanese occupied territories. The Lebanese presidency, the Parliament and the government agreed that it is the right of Lebanon to regain its occupied territory and that the equation "the army, the people, the resistance" is united under one umbrella. Thus, the possibility of confrontation between the Resistance - i.e. Hezbollah in this case - and Israel is now on the table.

The level of tension and chances of confrontation increased during Lebanese President Michel Aoun's visit to Moscow. During meetings with his homologue Russian President Vladimir Putin, the Christian President Aoun rejected US pressure on his country. The US establishment, including Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and his envoys to Lebanon, wants to prevent the over one and a half million Syrian refugees in Lebanon from returning home. President Aoun also rejected Trump's gift to Netanyahu, stating clearly that the Golan Heights is Syrian territory illegally occupied by Israel, and not the property of the US to dispose of as it will.
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Russian Flag

Lavrov lays out real reasons for anti-Russian hysteria - promises swift retaliation for UK's baseless provocations


TASS
Thu, 15 Mar 2018 11:41 UTC
lavrov
© Alexander Shcherbak/TASS
Russia's comeback to the world scene as an equitable partner that defies dictating and ultimatums causes a nervous reaction from the West, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told the forum Russia - A Country of Opportunities on Thursday.

"There has been a very nervous reaction to Russia's comeback as an equitable partner who does not impose anything on others but does not tolerate dictating or ultimatums. Our western partners' reaction to this is very painful," he said.

"To no avail," Lavrov went on to say. "We do not seek confrontation with anybody. We wish to cooperate with all on equitable terms, on the basis of mutual respect and search for a balance of interest and mutually acceptable approaches."

The gist of what is happening is the "categorical reluctance of the United States and its western allies to agree that the 500-year-long period of western domination in world affairs is coming to an end." In his opinion, transition to a new, multipolar, democratic and fair world order will last long, but already now this transition is painful for those who "are in the habit of ruling the world for centuries."

"They are in the habit of ruling the roost," Lavrov said.

Russia's response to London's measures against Moscow will follow very soon, Lavrov stressed.

Comment: Russia has now announced its tit-for-tat response: Moscow shuts British Council and expels 23 diplomats in response to British hysteria

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Snakes in Suits

Snake in a suit: Macron badmouths China on Friday, kisses up to Xi as he orders 300 Airbus airliners on Monday

Marko Marjanović
Checkpoint Asia
Tue, 26 Mar 2019 19:35 UTC
macron and xi jinping
On Friday when Xi was doing business with the Italians the Chinese were devious players who had "taken advantage" of "naive" Europeans:
"The time of European naïveté is ended," Mr Macron said on Friday. "For many years we had an unco-ordinated approach and China took advantage of our divisions."
On Monday when Xi is in Paris dropping a $10 billion order for 300 Airbus airliners Macron wants a "strong European partnership with China" based on multilateralism:
Speaking at the Elysee Palace following talks with Xi, Macron called for a "strong Europe-China partnership", adding that this must be based on "strong multilateralism" and "fair and balanced" trade.
Hey Macron, how come you're not bringing up the theme of exploitative China preying on disunited Europeans again? With Xi right there next to you, listening wouldn't this be the time to do it?

For now China is best served by playing Boeing and Airbus against each other and not going full in on either, but Beijing must surely be looking forward to the day when it can fill the skies with airliners of its own make and not have to reward the likes of either Trump or Macron.
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X

Russian response to US demand to leave Venezuela: "Get out of Syria first"


RT
Thu, 28 Mar 2019 17:07 UTC
us marines
© Global Look Press / ZUMA Press / Cpl. D. Morgan / USMC
The Trump administration should make good on its own promise to pull troops out of Syria before telling others where they should or shouldn't be, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in reply to Washington's threat over Venezuela.

"Before they have their say in the lawful interests of other nations, I would advise the US administration to fulfill the promises that it had given to the international community," Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said, referring to US President Donald Trump's pledge to get American troops out of Syria.

The US is behaving like a "cowboy in the Louvre," undermining international order with its "chaotic moves and unpredictable behavior," Zakharova said.

The Russian Foreign Ministry confirmed on Wednesday that two of its military planes arrived in Venezuela as part of a 2001 military cooperation deal that does not require further approval by the Venezuelan National Assembly, which has been taken over by the opposition and the self-proclaimed 'interim president' Juan Guaido. The planes carrying up to 100 Russian military specialists and cargo landed outside Caracas on Saturday, prompting wild guesses in the media.

Comment: Zakharova also answered the question as to how long the Russian troops would be in Venezuela:
"How long? As long as they need it, and as long as the Venezuelan government needs them. It all is being done based on bilateral agreements," the diplomat said in response to a question. "There are international and bilateral legal frameworks for it."


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Satellite

India shoots down satellite with precision missile, becomes 4th 'space superpower' - Modi


RT
Thu, 28 Mar 2019 16:36 UTC
india missile
© AFP / Arun Sankar
India's high-end missile has shot down a satellite as part of a "highly complex" test launch, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, proclaiming that his nation is now a fourth "space superpower" after the US, Russia, and China.

"Some time ago, our scientists shot down a live satellite 300 kilometers away in space, in low-earth orbit," Modi said in a televised address. The test was conducted as part of a "highly complex" Mission Shakti, "which was completed in three minutes."

"India has made an unprecedented achievement today," Modi reiterated, adding, "India registered its name as a space power."

Comment: Alleged footage of the launch:

Pakistan's response:
"Space is the common heritage of mankind and every nation has the responsibility to avoid actions which can lead to the militarization of this arena," Pakistan's Foreign Ministry said in a statement delivered on Wednesday.

Although the Pakistan didn't point a finger at India, it came shortly after Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailed his country's successful test of a top-notch anti-satellite missile.

Islamabad hopes that "countries which have in the past strongly condemned demonstration of similar capabilities by others" will also do their part in reducing "military threats relating to outer space."

"Boasting of such capabilities is reminiscent of Don Quixote's tilting against windmills," the ministry sarcastically said.


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Airplane

US FAA says it hasn't granted approval for Boeing 737 MAX anti=stall upgrade

David Shepardson
Reuters
Thu, 28 Mar 2019 16:46 UTC
Boeing-737 MAX8
© Boeing
Boeing 737 MAX8
The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration denied on Wednesday that it has granted provisional approval for Boeing Co's announced anti-stall software upgrade of 737 MAX aircraft following crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia.

A Boeing executive suggested to reporters that the FAA had "provisionally approved" the upgrade. The aviation regulator said it had worked with the company throughout its software change and "we have not received the completed software enhancement for review and certification."
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Star of David

Trump's support of Israel's annexation of the Golan a gift to both Netanyahu and US resource thieves

Helena Cobban
Mondoweiss
Tue, 26 Mar 2019 15:37 UTC
Trump Golan Netanyahu
© Susan Walsh/Associated Press
President Donald Trump holds up an executive proclamation recognizing the Golan Heights as Israeli territory at the White House in Washington DC, Monday, March 25, 2019.
On March 25, President Donald J. Trump signed an order proclaiming U.S. support for Israel's annexation of the Golan. This act ended Washington's opposition to any acquisition of territory by force- a principle that has been a key pillar of the global order since the United Nations was founded in 1945.

It also raised the prospect that Washington's support for Israel's other major act of Anschluss (= annexation)- that of Greater East Jerusalem, which Israel announced in 1967- may not be far behind.

This is far from the first time that Trump has upended long-held principles of U.S. foreign policy or international law. But with many still awaiting the long-delayed release of details of his "deal of the century" for Arab-Israeli peace, Trump's open embrace of Israel's Anschluss of the Golan just about guarantees that this new peace effort will be dead on arrival, if not aborted before birth.

Comment:

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Oscar

AOC's Green New Deal goes down in flames, taunted with cartoons on Senate floor

Molly Prince
Watts Up With That?
Tue, 26 Mar 2019 00:01 UTC
sen. mike lee green new deal

Yes, we’ll all need to ride seahorses under the Green New Deal.
Mike Lee uses velociraptors, tauntauns And Aquaman to dismantle the Green New Deal

Republican Utah Sen. Mike Lee argued against the Green New Deal on Tuesday by mocking two of the most controversial, and often ridiculed, policy proposals in the resolution: eliminating air travel and flatulating cows.
"Unlike others, I'm not immediately afraid of what the Green New Deal would do to the economy and our government. After all, this isn't going to pass - not today, not any time soon certainly," Lee said on the Senate floor. "After reading the Green New Deal, I'm mostly afraid of not being able to get through this speech with a straight face - I rise today to consider the Green New Deal with the seriousness it deserves."

Comment: Too funny! Treating the Green New Deal with "the seriousness it deserves". AOC is a laughing stock, and it seems like she's the only one not in on the joke.

See also:

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Map

'Why not give Israel North & South Carolina?' Syrian envoy asks US at UN


RT
Thu, 28 Mar 2019 15:44 UTC
North Carolina, U.S.
© REUTERS/Charles Mostoller
FILE PHOTO: An aerial view on a housing complex in North Carolina, U.S.
Syria's UN ambassador has suggested the US hand "a couple" of its own states over to Israel instead of flouting international law and selling others' land for favors with the Israeli lobby, like it did with the Golan Heights.

Syria's UN Ambassador Bashar Jaafari offered a stark rebuke to the US-backed Israeli claim to the occupied Golan Heights at the UN Security Council meeting on Wednesday. Jaafari said the Trump administration does the bidding of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the UN to curry favor with the powerful Israeli lobby in the US.

In a remark that elicited a chuckle and a head-shake from his Israeli counterpart, Jaafari suggested that Washington bargain away land that is actually its to give.
You can give them North and South Carolina, for example, why not? South Carolina is a great piece of land... So, give Israel a couple of states if this administration really wants to have Israeli support...

Comment: Too much? How about just New York City and Los Angeles?

All this declaring of foreign leaders, foreign capitals and foreign borders is making the US a global laughing stock.

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Bad Guys

Nigel Farage: Brexit deal is like Treaty of Versailles that helped Hitler rise to power

Jon Stone
The Independent
Wed, 27 Mar 2019 19:26 UTC
Nigel Farage
© Philip Coburn/Daily Mirror
Nigel Farage
Nigel Farage has likened Theresa May's Brexit withdrawal agreement to the Treaty of Versailles after the First World War, claiming it represents a "betrayal".

The former Ukip leader claimed the financial settlement was similar to the reparations imposed in Germany and that the inclusion of Northern Ireland in an EU customs area was like the annexation of Alsace-Lorraine.

The post-WWI treaty was key in Adolf Hitler's early rise to power and was central to the right-wing "stab in the back" myth that Germany was sold out by its civilian leaders.

"We're witnessing a slow- motion betrayal - perhaps the greatest betrayal of any democratic vote in the history of our nation. The reason is of course this withdrawal treaty," Mr Farage said in a speech in the European Parliament.

Comment: Labour is presented its 'soft' Brexit plan. No matter, it's all theater.
"The government's approach to the Brexit negotiations has been an abject failure and this house must now come together to find a way forward," Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said.

A total of 16 Brexit plans, including Labour's, are due to be debated in the British Parliament on Wednesday following Monday's vote to wrest control of the Brexit process away from embattled Prime Minister Theresa May. Parliament backed the amendment, by 329 votes to 302, with a view to breaking the deadlock on Brexit. May offered to resign in exchange for Brexiteer support for her third proposal, but that also failed.

The Labour Party says its plan would push for a "softer Brexit" while honoring the results of the 2016 referendum but still leaving room for negotiation with the EU. The proposed plan calls for harmony on employment rights and environmental protections with close alignment to the EU's single market.

This would include a comprehensive customs union with the EU with the UK having a say on future trade deals.

It also seeks continued participation with EU programs related to education, science and culture in addition to the sharing of resources regarding security and law enforcement, including access to the European arrest warrant.


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